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Placed in the heart of Mexico at 1,815 meters above the sea level, Leon Challenger provides one of the fastest conditions on this level of competition, with the ball flying around the court in a super quick manner due to lack of air.
Christopher Eubanks and Tobias Simon are two of the tallest players on the Tour and they used the quick surface to wrap up a match with two tie breaks in an hour and 25 minutes, which is almost the lower limit for encounters with two tie breaks (if you are not Dustin Brown, of course). In order to complete the match with two tie breaks in such a short amount of time the players have to hit as many service winners as possible and to keep the rallies below the fifth-shot mark in a big majority of a total number of points.
In addition, the games should stay under the deuce and break points phase and tie breaks should be completed without too much struggle. In the end, the matches like this one often come from competitors who don't waste too much time between the points or for the preparation before serving, keeping the game fast and fluid, and we certainly got that from Eubanks and Simon.
Eubanks won 10 points more than his rival to prevail and reach the second round but it was a mighty close clash from start to finish, with four break points in total and one break of serve on each side in the second set. Back in January, Vasek Pospisil and Mats Moraing played a similar match in Rennes Challenger (one break point in the entire match) but this one from Chris and Simon was even quickest, with 11 points more than in that indoor match between Vasek and Mats in the same amount of time.
There were 79 service winners (almost 50% of all the points) and 13 double faults in total and that is the main reason for such a swift affair, as they both sought to finish the point with the initial shot or with the first groundstroke.
Chris had the advantage in both the shortest and those rare longer exchanges and he played better in the crucial moments, saving a set point in the opening set tie break and controlling the scoreboard in the second set tie break despite the fact he had a chance to close the match earlier as he was a break up.
Staggering 88,7% of the points landed in the shortest range up to four strokes, with a huge number of service winners or successful attacks with the first groundstroke. Of course, these players are ranked outside the Top 200 and they don't possess the necessary skills to build the point in a more efficient way than just a plane big serve&forehand combo but it was an entertaining match with some nice flat shots, slices and volleys.
Only 18 points passed the five-shot mark and there was just one rally that went beyond the eight stroke, helping them to close the match in no time at all. There were six deuces in total (only two in that Pospisil vs Moraing clash) and the returners won at least two points in 11 different games, making their feat of wrapping things up in 85 minutes even more impressive. Point by point result and the number of shots in the rallies:
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